, 1887-09-21
m. HORROR. or INSOMNIA.
what 1t Ii to De Beset by the Demons
of Guaranteeing the Sleepy God.

va NAV ttAilOio AtSlhlS VI uLlcSI- i
have had a day Of fatigue and was par
ticularly tired when l sought my couch.
/ put out the gas and thought l could
sleep, when 10! there came to my pillow
4 whole troop Of tho demons Of wakeful-
ness. l tried hard to Danish them. I
begged, implored, besought, prayed, and
swore, but all in vain. Not a demon
moved. When 1 prayed they laughed.
when I swore they Knocked. l arose, lit
the gas, and let it flash out full blaze,
thinking, perhaps, that the glow Of un-
wonted brillianCy might scatter them as
bats flee from the sunlight. But not a
single fiend left or showed the slightest
sign Of taking his departure. Can a
greater torment than this be imaginedp
What keener anguish can be conceived
h that horrible state which doons its
victims to eternal ruthlessness, when the
eye never closes and when every faculty
Of the tired mind never feels the soft
touch of heavenly sleep2
l know Of no reason why 1 am now
afflicted with this insomnia. 1 am well.
l have no pains, no aches, and none Of
the ills that flesh is heir to. Let me re-
view the day. What have 1 dom to
provoke a whit from these demons Of
unrest2 have simply pursued my usual
avocations. l am not aware of having
wronGed, cheated. or injured any one. l
cannot think Of a single lie that I have told.
Ny conscience is clear. Late a light break
fast, a moderate dinner, and a still lighter
supper, and yet here l am at midnight a
helpless victim to these tormenting fiends.
The mystery is incomprehensible and i'm
penetrable. There Is one clear, palpable,
visible fact, and that is, 1 cannot sleep.
Imagination begins to play its usual
tricks. l am starting on my unwilling
travels-away to the moon, up among
the planets, over the length and breadth
of the milky way. and comet like swiftly
pursuing my erratic course over the path
less wastes Of the boundless universe.
Check it, stop it, or bid it pause In its
wild career1 One might as well try to
stay the furious tornado, or block up the
passage Of the fierce cyclone. When i'm
agination has once mounted its high
horse it must have its way. 1t will run
its course and neither bride, check nor
rein will stay it for a moment. Nothing
is too difficult for it to attempt. 1t has
wings for the loftiest flights into the vast
heights Of the blue ether Oh leaden
weights to carry it down into the pro-
foundest depths. These might be very
pretty journeys at times, but when a
man doesn't van to travel at all they
are very disagreeable. / don't want to
go now, for L should like to sleep, but
the treacherous god of dullness is away
paying a visit to more fortunate eyelids.
He and all of his angel ministers are lust
now engaged in waiting the choice bless
ings Of solt slumber to hard listed labor,
sending gentle sleep down upon the tired
and toiling millions whose brows have
been sweating through the long day for
the broad they earned.
Things arc not so unevenly divided,
after all. The poor laborer whose brawny
muscles have been in exercise all day
looks up to the rich nabob with envy,
while tho lattor looks down upon the la
borer with the same feeling and covets
the peaceful sleep which the toiler enjoys
so sweetly. Would he, tho hard worker,
II he knew all the conditions, change
places with the rich! Would he take all
the torture Of unrest, be haunted by the
demons Of insomnia night after night,
toss upon his uneasy couch through the
long watches OF the tedious night and
rise haGgard and unrefreshed in the
morning for all the wealth he covets?
wi ~ DN1bi al II SIlONh ~
most1 He who sleeps O. nights or he who
Doesn't The man who tolls during the
day and sleeps night after night, who
rises betimes In the morning, eats his
humble breakfast with a relish, comes to
his substantial dinner with \ good appe-
tite and a healthy digestion, partakes of
his frugal supper and then ~retires TO his
humble couch to sleep and rest through
Oiit tho lone nIorlf g.. tha ro,1 -.loL.f d.
all. BE gets the most out of life, has
the most substantial enjoyments, and that
Is all there is of it. Eat, drink and
says Byron.
Ny pencil and paper are beginning to
shirk. / am like Bottom, having ian
exposition Of sleep come on me-" and
the demons of insomnia are show
Ing signs Of fatigue. One by one
they disappear, and then they go,
one after the other in quick sue
cession, until leaping, tumbhng and
struggling, they sink down into the
gulf OF darkness, and are swallowed up
In the overwhelming gloom. And now
gentle, welcome sleep, is softly stealing
over all my faculties, and that indescrib-
able feeling, soothing, restful and deli
SlOuS, COLueS over ue ike n COOllng breeze
waited from a bank OF fragrant flowers.
The angel ministers of grateful sleep are
shedding their soft influence over me.
The eyes grow heavy, a delightful numb
ness p~enetrates every muscle, nerve and
artery Of the tired body, and l drift off
into tie peaceful land OF dreamless re-
pose. Every faculty OF body and mind
Is at rest, except the heart, which, Like q
Nigilant sentinel, never deserts its post
until death comes and Their there L. an
end.
IAvoke with a start. The hot sun was
pouring its burning ray through the
easement, the loud resembling bells were
pealing forth their harsh notes, the rat
ting wheels were rolling over the stony
street, the thunder OF the distant train
saluted my ear, the trees were bursting
with the melody OF the feathered song
STEERS, the patter of hurrying feet upon
the sidewalk, all announced that a newly
born day had broken upon the world,
and yet 1t seemed to me that l had slept
but a moment, though six solid hours
had passed away since I had lost myself.
How time leaps away while we sleep, and
with what a leaden pace 1t moves when
We lie tossing on an uneasy couch
"a. B. b" in Chicago Tribune.